1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to contamination control devices and more specifically to portable, folding, disposable devices intended to control fluid flow during decontamination or medical treatment of an isolated region of a patient""s body.
2. Background of the Invention
Injuries or illnesses affecting a specific region of a patient""s body present special problems to medical and emergency rescue personnel. These problems include control and containment of the blood or other body fluids flowing as a result of an injury or a surgical procedure.
Decontamination of patient parts from hazardous, biological, chemical, or radioactive agents also poses fluid handling concerns. In these cases, decontamination of the effected area also requires that the rest of the patient be shielded from contamination.
In addition to the above, very often treatment has to be provided on an emergency basis at an accident or disaster location and to a very large number of individuals. In all cases one must dispose of the contaminants, body fluids, contaminated clean-up materials and containers in a safe and expeditious manner. Prior art methods for facilitating the medical treatment of isolated regions of the human body and for containing contaminants and effluents have proven to be unsatisfactory in many respects. Several patents have disclosed devices where the whole body is immersed in the decontamination device so that contaminants washed away from the primary contamination site come into contact with areas of the body that were heretofore uncontaminated. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,112,498, 4,305,165, 4,713,850, 4,960,136 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,426,795, the last of which was issued to the Applicant. Generally, these devices have several disadvantages: they require a long time to deploy, are difficult to dispose of in large quantities, and are relatively expensive. As such, disaster preparedness officials have found it impracticable to store a sufficient quantity of such devices on first-aid vehicles or at triage stations in anticipation of their possible use. Consequently when the need suddenly arises, not enough devices are available.
Also, whole body contamination is somewhat unusual. More usually, only the head or an extremity needs to be treated. As such, the use of a full body decontamination tub or basin to treat a small body region is wasteful.
Other devices can be characterized as surgical drapes. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,921,627 4,890,628, 5,107,859 5,143,091, and 5,161,544, These are intended for use with a specific region of the body, the knee for instance, and they are provided with some means for the storage of effluents. On the other hand, these devices are so specialized in their use that disaster preparedness officials find it unpracticable to supply adequate assortments to ambulances or to dispersed stations. Moreover, because they cannot accommodate sufficient quantities of fluid these devices cannot be readily used for decontamination. Also, these devices do not afford simultaneous, unimpeded access to all areas of an effected body region without the necessity of clamps or folds.
A need exists in the art for a device that controls fluid run-off resulting from decontamination and treatment of isolated regions of the human body and for other similar activities. The device should be deployed rapidly, and should also serve to contain hazardous fluids for subsequent disposal.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a decontamination and body-fluid containment device that overcomes many of the disadvantages in the prior art.
Another object of the present invention to provide a device to decontaminate an isolated body region. A feature of the present invention is that it is compact. An advantage of the present invention is that it isolates the rest of a patient""s body from the contaminant as the contaminant is removed from the primary effected site.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a decontamination device such that an isolated body region undergoing treatment may be supported so as to minimize patient discomfort. A feature of the present invention is that it provides means to minimize the pressure exerted on the body region. An advantage of the present invention is that the patient""s body region may rest comfortably and securely while under treatment. Another advantage is that the support means is contoured so as to prevent fluid leakage between the body region and the support means.
Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a decontamination device where treating personnel have unimpeded access to an isolated body region undergoing treatment. A feature of the present invention is that it allows the body region to be positioned well above the treatment device. An advantage of the present invention is that the body region may be treated in its entirety without moving the patient.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a decontamination device with which a variety of isolated body regions may be decontaminated. A feature of the present invention is that it is adaptable to any body extremity and to a variety of other body regions. An advantage of the present invention is that identical embodiments thereof can be used to treat a wide variety of injuries or diseases. Another advantage is that the invention has many surgical- and emergency-department uses in a medical setting, wherein eye or ear irrigation is common, and where the treatment for head-, hand-, and extremity-trauma is common place. The device could also be utilized as a surgical or suture tray, with the tray to optionally contain an absorbent material as in inside bottom liner.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a decontamination device that allows substantial quantities of contaminants and other effluents to be drained away. A feature of the present invention is that it provides drainage means together with a receptacle for the liquid drained away. An advantage of the present invention is that contamination of the surroundings is minimized. These advantages allows the device, when constructed with pliable frame members, to be used as a bed-pan.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a decontamination device that is of minimal bulk. A feature of the present invention is that it is collapsible. An advantage of the present invention is that the device can be easily shipped and stored prior to use. Another advantage is that the device can be used as a hazardous fluid storage container after it""s primary function, of catching the hazardous material, has been utilized.
Yet a further object of the present invention to provide a decontamination device that can be deployed rapidly. A feature of the present invention is that it requires minimal or no assembly. An advantage of the present invention is that it can be used to immediately contain fluid which poses a sudden potential for spreading.
Another object of the present invention to provide a decontamination device which is of minimal cost. A feature of the present invention is that it comprises a few compact parts that are readily fabricated with common materials. An advantage of the present invention is that disaster preparedness officials may store a sufficient supply of decontamination devices at dispersed sites where such devices may someday be needed.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a semi-reusable decontamination device and fluid catch basin. A feature of the device is that a frame is isolated from contaminating fluid by a membrane. An advantage of the device is that the membrane can be discarded or used to store the contaminating fluid and the frame can be reused in subsequent decontamination instances.
Briefly, the invention provides a device to isolate a patient""s body region and to contain fluid emanating from the region comprising a frame; a membrane attached to said frame to define a basin; and a means provided on said frame to receive the body region.
Also provided is a device for isolating a site and capturing fluid associated with the site, comprising a frame; a membrane attached to said frame to define a basin; and a means for enabling the basin to encapsulate the site.
The invention also provides for a collapsible basin comprising a foldable, compliant frame; and membrane received by said frame to form a basin.
Also provided is a device to isolate a patient""s body region and to contain fluid emanating from the region comprising a reversibly deformable frame; and a membrane attached to said frame to define a basin and to isolate the frame from the basin.